Physiological and transcriptional responses to acibenzolar‐S‐methyl in creeping bentgrass

Abstract Acibenzolar‐S‐methyl (ASM) is a plant protection compound known for its bacterial control, plant activation, and for enhancing heat and drought stress tolerance in turfgrass. However, the comprehensive transcriptional response to ASM treatment in creeping bentgrass (CB) has not been elucidated. To address this, we assembled RNA‐sequencing (RNA‐seq) reads from bentgrass to create its reference set of expressed genes. By conducting RNA‐seq analysis on RNA samples from ASM‐treated leaves and controls in CB, we comprehensively identified genes that responded to ASM treatment. To characterize the functional properties of the ASM‐responsive genes, we analyzed genes putatively encoding transcription factors (TFs), including WRKY TFs. We identified genes’ putatively encoding WRKY TFs in CB with conserved responses to ASM, analogous to their homologs in Brachypodium, which are known to mediate defense against sheath blight. This identified ASM‐responsive gene set will provide a valuable genomic resource for further detailed analysis of gene expression and transcriptional regulation in response to ASM treatment in CB.